Soft Italian Sugar Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Shape dough into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool., For icing, in a small bowl, combine milk, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired. Dip tops of cookies in icing; allow excess to drip off. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in extracts and eggs, one at a time. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; gradually beat into creamed mixture. , Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets; flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks; cool completely., For frosting, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, extract and enough water to reach desired consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread over cookies.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place them on an unprepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugar.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together (I use a whisk) and gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
• Shape dough into 1-1/2" balls.
• Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Remove to wire racks to cool after 2 minutes.
• ****FOR ICING****.
• In a small bowl, combine the milk, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
• Tint with food coloring (I prefer the gel) if desired.
• ****DECORATING****.
• Dip the cooled cookies into the icing.
• Sprinkle with colored sugars if desired.
• Place on waxed paper until icing is set.

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until completely incorporated. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough, roll with your hands into balls and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put some sugar in a small bowl. Roll the chilled dough balls in the sugar and arrange on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
• Bake until the bottoms and edges are just barely golden and the tops are no longer glossy, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets about halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
• Add buttermilk, flavor extracts, baking soda and cream of tarter and blend well.
• Now by hand with a wooden spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time until the mixture is stiff.
• Drop from heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. If not icing you may press on the nuts or sprinkles now (or you can ice or frost and decorate with sprinkles after baking).
• Bake in a preheated 375F oven, center oven rack, 10 to 13 minutes or until cookie edges are slightly brown and tops look set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Overbaking cause dry, hard cookies.
• Carefully remove to rack to cool. Frost or decorate as desired.
• Notes: recipe may be halved, cookies freeze well, for best baking use an insulated baking sheet as these tend to burn on the bottom. Store airtight.